For this review, I’m promoting black horror writers since this is Black History Month. But I want to first say a disclaimer: we should be reading books by black writers ALL YEAR LONG, not just in the month of February.

It was tough choosing writers to review. There are so many amazing POC horror writers. I first had my eye on Paula D. Ashe, but “The Mother of All Monsters” is a short story and I wanted to include either a novel or novella. Fortunately, I had Felix I.D. Dimaro’s Bug Spray on my TBR, so that gave me an excuse to start reading it.

“The Mother of All Monsters”

As a writer myself, I actually struggle with writing short stories. I want to go more into detail, describe my characters a bit more, include backstories, etc. And what do you know, I have a novella! So when I find a really good short, it leaves a lasting impression.

That was certainly the case with Paula D. Ashe’s “The Mother of All Monsters.” The story follows a woman who’s son is in town from college. During his visit, she discovers his terrible secret. But instead of justifying his actions or standing up for him, she creates a brutal punishment.

This is a concept that has been interesting me lately. How parents respond when their child, whether young or grown up, does something awful. But too often we see parents sticking up for their child and supporting their actions. So I appreciate this twist, about a mother who can’t stand to see her son getting away with the terrible crimes he’s committing.

As you can see, the story revolves around two characters: the mother and son. They’re from a small town where the mother is a successful dentist — this detail is very important. I actually love this tidbit. There’s so much depravity in teeth and gums, so I appreciate the dental aspect in horror.

In just a few pages, Ashe creates an intense story. You read it quickly; not because it’s short but because you can’t take your eyes off the pages. First, you read descriptions about the son. How he’s the absolute sunshine in his mom’s life — as all children are. She cooked his favorite meal. Trusts him with her credit card. He may be growing up but he’s still mom’s little boy. But there’s something off. The reader knows it, and you’re just waiting for the truth to unfold.

One thing I notice with both stories I’m reviewing is they’re not terrifying in the typical horror sense, but the reader is drowning in despair. About the unspeakable actions of a son and his mother. That maybe your child, the child you see as absolute perfect, could be a monster. And it’s up to the parents if they will tame the beast.

This is definitely not your normal brand of horror, which is why I highly recommend this story.

Bug Spray

If there’s one word I can use to describe this story, it’s heartbreaking. From the moment the story begins to the point where it ends, the reader is just not having a good time. Not because the story or writer is bad — Dimaro is a skilled author who crafted an exceptional story. But because everything about this story is just so unsettling, specifically the characters. And it’s very realistic.

I’m sure we have all had toxic bosses at one point in time. I certainly did. And that’s where Tybalt Ward comes in. He’s your stereotypical go-getter, though he makes it apparent that he’s a complete sociopath.

He’s beyond a bad boss, though he certainly doesn’t seem like the type of boss you want to work under. He works to get his fill and will leave everyone else — including his workers — in this dust. But a part of you does feel for Tybalt. He struggled with racism in the professional world, his father died of doing unjust things (won’t give this detail away), and it seemed he lived in poverty his entire life. Tybalt was determined to make a name for himself. However, he quickly realizes this comes with sacrifices — lots of them.

But deep down, Tybalt is a piece of shit and Dimaro makes that apparent. He gets sucked into this cult-like group associated with the insurance company he manages. This is really what I was talking about when I said there are many unsettling aspects about this book. I won’t go into detail about this group, but they do terrible things and you can’t help but wonder how many corporate groups are like this in the world. It’s apparent they inducted Tybalt because the insurance company’s CEO knew he was as slimy as the rest of his executives. He was the perfect addition.

Tybalt’s treatment of women is also what pinpointed this characteristic. He’s an absolute womanizer, even going as far as seducing women in his office. He has a “maid” who’s an Asian-American, yet he renames her and forces her to speak in a Japanese accent (though he doesn’t know if she really is of Japanese descent). There’s more, but I would give too much of the story away, so I will just say his behavior throughout the book isn’t very respectful of women at all. I’ve met men like this before; not ones who go as far as Tybalt, but the typical womanizers who will crush their partner’s life in order to get laid. So these parts hit home for me.

If there is one complaint I have about this book, is that the story starts a little slow at first. We focus on Tybalt’s relationship with one of his employees, Bethany. I will say, all of the details here are important and really bring out Tybalt’s character, albeit slowly. But trudge through this part — I promise it gets good.

Once we get to the good stuff, we realize Tybalt’s life is turning around. He was once at the top of the world and now he’s going crazy. The culprit? Flies. I absolutely HATE bugs and I avoid any horror with bugs (and where animals are killed). But Dimaro actually conveys the bugs well. He doesn’t talk about them as bugs in the literal sense, but almost as a metaphor. That when you commit so many heartless actions, they will come back to bite you. And in this sense, the flies make up for a lack of conscience.

I think why I love this story is you really can’t predict it. There are so many twists and turns as well as fantasy elements. The book is so exciting in many ways — the unsettling corporate America vibes, watching a romance go wrong, and seeing the downfall of Tybalt Ward.

The one thing I will say is this book does a suicidal theme. I learned very recently that this is a trigger warning for some (and I feel bad because I wrote a book with themes of suicide and had no idea), so I want to point that out.

Where to Read

You can read “The Mother of All Monsters” and Bug Spray on Amazon.